Angelina's Life in Motion

Things are happening way fast in my world!! I am now officially a GRAD student. How cool is that and guess what? I really like my first 2 out of 3 classes. The third starts next Sat. I admit that I am a little nervous. I've got pretty high standards to meet and it will be somewhat of a challenge. I won't bore you with what I've learned so far in linguistics, but I think it's fascinating.
Besides starting classes, today my roommate and I put a deposit on an apartment. It is definitely a step of faith for us and wow, are we in a position where we have to trust God to provide! It's sometimes good to live life on the edge, you know. The apartment will be ready next week sometime, which means that next weekend I'll probably be moving in- that is, if I have a bed by then, or at least a mattress, or a sleeping bag.(?) We'll see. I'll keep you posted on that.
It's great to be around a campus again. I'm meeting soooo many new people with so many potential friends and who knows, perhaps some guy will be the lucky one. :)
That is yet to be discovered.

I have no words of wisdom or fun stories today, just a bit of real life. The stress of unexpected family illness, lack of sleep, disappointment, one-way friendships and a grueling schedule is kind of getting my down. Life does not seem to have much to offer to me right now. In thinking about this, God said, "So what!" Then He said, "Angelina, you aren't alive because the world has something for you, but because you have something to give the world." Lo and Behold, it really isn't about me, is it. It was a stern, but encouraging reminder of what and who I live for.

Are you living in freedom or are you crippled with fear? God has made me aware of how many decisions I make out of fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of disappointment, fear of the past. I step back and laugh in horror when I identify specific situations where these things have motivated me. It's no wonder I have walked around protected by walls instead of walking in the freedom of the Spirit! I can truly say that I am gaining the freedom God wants me to have. I now feel free- free to be who I am, free to be real, free to fall knowing that I will get back up, free to take risks and put my heart on the line. Most of all I am free from fear!! I'm so excited for the work God is doing! Come on, brothers and sisters. It is time to be free and stop living in fear.

Ok, so I know I just wrote yesterday, but something happened to me today that hasn't happened since I was 16.......... There I was driving along and saw this car getting awfully close to me in the rear-view mirror. I looked down at my speedometer thinking, "Man, I must be going slow or something" and I was going under the speed limit, so I sped up a little. Then after another glance in the mirror, I saw those lovely red and blue lights flashing behind me. So, I got pulled over. Fortunately it was only because my license plate light was out and I just got a warning. Anyway, since this is the 2nd time it's ever happened in my life I thought I'd write about it.

Sometimes life, with all of its decisions comes at you fast, know what I mean? The more I think that life should become stable, the more changes there are that happen.
I had a good laugh at myself this week. I was having a rough day yesterday and I was stressing over some things coming up in my life and I was pitiful in my prayer. Then, near the end of my walk a thought came to mind and I began laughing out loud. I realized that I was approaching God in the same way the Israelites did in the wilderness. They kept crying out to God saying, "Did you lead us into the desert to let us die? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt?" It's like they had short-term memory loss and couldn't remember what God had done the day before. Well, my prayer would have been something like,"God, are you going to bring me to Findlay to let me get burned-out, in debt and leave me to fend for myself?" Have I already forgotten the hard year God got me through, the university job He provided me and the friends He's given me here? Not to mention the thousands of dollars He's given me for college and Mexico. Oh, Angelina, you of little faith. After God made me laugh at myself, my perspective changed and I'm trusting my Savior!